In this issue

While the purchaser or holder of a gift card does not always lose out entirely in a retailer insolvency situation, high-profile retail insolvencies in the UK and the US over the last few years have put the treatment of gift card holders under the spotlight.

Several countries in Africa have made significant progress in
making their systems more efficient by revamping their system
of recording security interests in movable assets and creating a
meaningful non-judicial enforcement mechanism.

In the recent Hong Kong Court of First Instance case Charmway
Hong Kong Investment v Fortunesea (Cayman) Ltd & Ors [2015]
HKCU 171, the court considered whether an individual lender
has the right under a syndicated credit agreement to take
action directly against members of the obligor group (including
petitioning for winding-up) independently of the other lenders.
The case and the market response is of interest to majority and
minority creditors in syndicated structures in understanding
the extent of their basic rights to pursue the debt owed by
the obligors.

The new year will bring tremendous changes to the Polish
insolvency regime as significant amendments to the Bankruptcy
and Recovery Law (Journal of Laws 2015, No. 233, uniform text)
come into force on 1 January 2016. The
aim of the New Bankruptcy Law is to make existing legal
instruments more effective and to help business entities survive
financial stress or distress.

Illegal phoenix activity broadly involves the transfer of assets
between related companies to intentionally evade creditors. In
October 2015 a comprehensive report in respect of the
incidence, cost and enforcement of illegal phoenix activity was
released by the Melbourne Law School and Monash Business
School in Australia providing lawmakers and
regulators with highly sought after data to assist them tackle
illegal phoenix activity across Australia.

Andrew J. Hinkelman, Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, gives his prognosis on restructurings and workouts in 2016 as a result of the challenges of slowing global growth, depressed commodity prices, disrupted business models and less accommodative credit markets.

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DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, positioning us to help clients with their legal needs around the world.

DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, positioning us to help clients with their legal needs around the world.